BGMEA for socially responsible supply chain

BGMEA president Faruque Hassan has stressed on creating socially responsible supply chain, ethical sourcing and unified code of conduct for social audits.

He came up with the observation while speaking at a virtual meeting of Social Responsibility Committee organised by the American Apparel & Footwear Association on Wednesday.

Faruque Hassan attended the panel discussion titled “The Impact of Covid on Supply Chains-The Supplier Perspective”, said a press release on Thursday.

Faruque Hassan discussed minutely about how Bangladesh and its RMG industry is doing in terms of exports and maintaining health protocols in this difficult time of Covid-19.

He raised issues which are pertinent to responsible business practices and socially responsible supply chain, like ethical sourcing and purchasing practices, particularly the worsening trend in import price, which is unjustifiable to the sustainability strides made by the manufacturers.

The BGMEA chief also flagged the issue of audit fatigue and the need for unified code of conduct for social audits which will be beneficial for the buyers, manufacturers and workers at large, said the release.

Faruque Hassan accentuated the importance of collaborative and strategic partnership between business to business and association to association to make businesses more complementary, resilient and sustainable.

He also highlighted the future prospects of the industry and the need for industry up-grading particularly in the areas of skills and efficiency enhancement, technological upgrading, and diversification of products (especially non-cotton) and welcomed US investments in these areas.

Thea Lee, Deputy under Secretary of International Labor Affairs, US Department of Labor; Scott Busby, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor, US Department of State; and Charita Castro, Director for Labor Affairs, Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) spoke on the occasion among others.

Nate Herman, Senior Vice-President, Policy, AAFA hosted the meeting, the release added.